After Gibbs
by OzGeek
Summary: Set after Hiatus, written before season 4 but inadvertantly contains spoilers. Tony leds, there is a new Probie and McGee is morphing into Tony. Finally added the last chapter even managed an obscure reference to Jimmy.
1. Chapter 1

Author warning:

This is set after Hiatus but before season 4. It was not meant to be a spoiler for season 4 but inadvertently turned out a little in that direction.

I started writing this after Hiatus was screened in the US. I got a little un-nerved when the spoilers started rolling in and now I have seen the YouTube of the opening scene, I am getting really worried. This isn't finished yet, its just getting too AU given there was a new Probie and she was Asian so I wanted to get it out for comments.

Now I can't watch the YouTube scene without thinking, OK: McGee has gone casual, has more confidence and lost a whole lot of weight. Is there a woman (say one into healthy foods)? He wasn't even embarrassed when he realised she had heard him call her hot. They just exchanged a brief smile. NO!

I'm thinking off killing off my Female Asian Probie (FAP) really soon now because the characterisations are going to start to diverge. They are too close, yet too far.

* * *

Tony, McGee and Ziva slumped in the corner of the noisy hall, barely speaking. After a three day case which had encompassed the weekend plus a Monday, they were all ready for bed. Unfortunately, Madam Director had made it clear that attendance at the 'meet the new probationary officers', function was mandatory. It was a 'finger food and music event' which meant those who hadn't had a proper meal for three days, were going to starve. A spirit argument with Tony ensued and eventually the Director had relented somewhat: They could leave at 10 pm.

Tony checked his watch: It was 9 pm. His phone vibrated and he rose to take the call outside away from the noise. Ziva and McGee eyed him wearily but said nothing. He returned less than a minutes later with two boxes of pizza which he placed on the table they were sharing. McGee and Ziva's eyes opened wide.

"Oh, Tony", Ziva's voice was full of exhausted appreciation, "You are fantastic, this is better than sex." And she groaned expressively as she bit into a slice.

McGee frowned at her for a moment, "Really?"

"You're not doing it right", Tony informed her, taking a slice and savouring it slowly. "Oh, no", he moaned, "You're right"

No one else seemed to notice the elicit pizza and the thought that everyone else was suffering with finger food made it taste just that little bit better.

Revived somewhat, Tony surveyed the current crop. They were all starting to look like McGee. Once they were all ex-cops or hardened ex-military, now they were all young, eager, inexperienced and highly educated. He had to give Gibbs credit: he had seen the trend coming and had got the team its own fresh-faced geeky graduate before they became fashionable. Now they were like the latest accessory: every team had to have one.

He hadn't told Ziva and McGee that one of them was going to be theirs. He wouldn't know which until tomorrow. The Director had called him in to ask him two questions: did he have a particular skill missing from his team and was McGee far enough beyond the probationary stage that the team could handle a junior officer. He immediately noted the need for a profiler. It was a skill they lost with Kate and had missed on several occasions. He gave the McGee question a great deal of thought. Although he would always see him as a Probie, he had really gone way beyond that now. It was time for fresh blood. He hadn't told McGee yet. He wanted to see the look of appreciation on his face in the morning.

McGee yawned and stretched in his chair. "I'm going out for some fresh air", he said rising.

Tony tapped his watch, "it's not 10 pm yet"

"I know, "McGee shot him an annoyed look, "It's just so loud and crowded in here, I need a break."

McGee fought his way through the crowd to the door he could see led out to a small terrace. Abby danced her way into him and tried valiantly to drag him into the festivities but he declined: gently at first and then more firmly until she gave up, turned her back on him and kept dancing.

The cold air hit him like a refreshing spray as he walked through the door . He took a deep breath and sunk onto a nearby bench resting his head back against the wall.

"Hard day?"

The voice was so unexpected he jerked, nearly tumbling off the bench. He looked around in surprise to see a beautiful long haired Asian girl wearing a full length black dress. No wonder he didn't see her. She was wearing a tell-tale probationary officer name tag.

He relaxed and smiled at her politely, "Yeah, we've just done three days straight sleeping in office chairs and cars."

"That sounds dreadful", she sympathized.

"We got him", said McGee gruffly, "That's all that matters".

He leant back again and then suddenly straightened. "Oh, I'm sorry", he apologised, "I'm Tim, Tim McGee", and he held out his hand.

"Doris", she replied trying to shake it though her hand was so slight it barely fitted over his fingers.

"I know", she sighed reading McGee's quizzical expression, "My parents wanted me to fit into America so they watched lots of movies and named me after a famous film star."

"Doris Day?"

"You got it", her tone was almost resentful, "If I had been a boy, you would have been talking to Elvis right now".

McGee allowed himself a chuckle. "Parents: can't live with them, can't kill them."

He rested his head back against the wall and they sat in companionable silence for a while, watching the lights over the city.

"Lived here long?" McGee asked conversationally without looking at her.

"No, found a place this weekend", she answered, "Just moved in the essentials: a bed, a TV, one chair, one table and a huge vat of chocolate chip ice cream."

McGee rolled his head to look at her "Vanilla with chocolate chip or the chocolate with chocolate chip?"

"Vanilla."

"Oh yeah", he smiled closing his eyes to relive the taste, "That's the stuff."

"Where's your place?" he enquired.

"Sliver city"

"Hey, I live around there", he managed to muster some enthusiasm; "I might meet you on the bus sometime."

She looked at her watch. "Its 10 pm", she said rocking to her feet, "nice to meet you but the Director said we could go at 10 pm."

McGee leapt up with a new found energy, "Us too", he said, "I am so out of here."

He followed her through the door and the mass exodus was obvious, almost everyone save Abby and a few other party animals were heading gratefully for the door. They merged into the throng.

As McGee tramped his way to his car, he came across the same girl again standing alone at a bus stop. He stopped dead.

"You're planning on taking a bus home at this time of night in this district?" he asked incredulously.

"I… I don't have a car yet", she explained quietly.

"Come on", he said, "I'll give you a ride home. It's not good to get mugged the day before you start work."

"Thanks", she said gratefully.

"And you're freezing", he observed, removing his coat, "You'll need some warmer clothes if you're going to survive in this place".

She stood timidly while he draped his enormous jacket over her tiny frame.

"This way, madam", he said with a sweep of his hand and they headed off together towards his car.

* * *

As they pulled up outside her apartment block, McGee stopped the engine.

"What are you doing?" she asked almost fearfully.

It took him aback. He wasn't meaning to be threatening. "I w..w..was just going to see you to your door to make sure you were OK", he stammered.

"Oh", she looked down, ashamed.

"I'll just wait here until you're in safely, if you like", he suggested gently.

"No", she said confidently, "I'd like to share some chocolate-chip ice cream with you as a reward for your chivalry."

"Oh," he was startled again but for a whole new reason, "That's very kind of you but I haven't slept in days and I really ought to be getting home."

"Just for a moment", she looked up at him with large black pools, "I promise".

For an instant he was stunned, "Ahh.. OK…sure, I guess", he relented.

* * *

She hadn't exaggerated the furnishings; there was indeed one chair, one TV, one coffee table and nothing else in the living room.

"I'll just get the ice cream", she said hurriedly, heading for the kitchen. "Try out the chair, it's a recliner."

McGee eyed the chair suspiciously, it looked too comfortable.

Doris stuck her head around the corner, "Go on", she encouraged.

Sighing, McGee slid into the chair. My, it was comfortable.

When Doris came around the corner carrying two bowls of ice cream she stopped short. There was a large guy sound asleep on her only chair.

"Agent McGee?" she said quietly.

There was no response, only heavy breathing. She set the ice cream bowls down on the small coffee table considering her options. First thing to try was the recliner lever. He'd either wake up or be more comfortable, it was a win-win move. She pushed down on the lever with her foot. She almost had to come to a full stand but eventually she managed to extend the chair out. Did she imagine it or did he just start breathing more deeply?

She went to the door and flicked the lights on and off a few times. That didn't help. She sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table and ate her bowl of ice cream thoughtfully.

She was wondering what she was going to tell her parents: "And on my third night in my own place, I had some guy that I just met at a party sleep over". Hmm, not a good way to secure her inheritance: unless of course there were grandchildren involved. What was she thinking!

Oh great, now he was snoring. She looked down to find she had finished the second bowl of ice cream.

She looked up at the clock. It was nearly 11 pm and she had to get up bright and early for her new job. It wouldn't do to be tired and stressed out on her first day worrying about what some large stranger might do to her in the night.

She stood up and made an executive decision: She was going to ignore him, go to bed and in the morning, he would be gone. On her way to bed she noticed the temperature dropping. She hadn't had time to get a heater yet. She was still wearing his coat. Returning to the living room, she placed the coat over him. That probably wasn't going to be enough. She had exactly one quilt and one blanket to her name. She'd shout him the blanket but the quilt was all hers.

After she had laid the blanket over him she stood back to admire her placement. He still had his shoes on. Hmm, that couldn't be comfortable. She unlaced them and placed them neatly next to the chair. She wondered guiltily if his pants were uncomfortable too and then laughed at herself. It was getting late, she was getting tired. The chances were she would never see this guy again anyway.


	2. The morning after

McGee snorted awake and found he was looking blearily at Doris.

He sat up a bit straighter, though it was hard because the chair seemed to have developed a slope, "Oh, sorry", he apologised, "ice cream?"

"Special Agent McGee", Doris explained patiently, "Its 7am and I really need to get ready. I thought you might need to as well."

He sat bolt upright in the reclined chair noticing the morning light for the first time. There was a blanket over him and his shoes were gone. He felt the colour rising up his cheeks.

"Oh, I'm so sorry", he was trying hard not to panic, "I … we … no sleep in days, I didn't mean to…", he stopped, he was losing control of this speech.

"Its OK", she assured him, "but I think you'd better get home".

"Ah, right," he agreed hastily wrenching himself from the chair. Then he stopped, "Ah before I go…"

"Right over there", she pointed to the bathroom.

"Thanks", and he fled.

He tried to apologise some more as he was leaving but she seemed more amused than upset with him. As he opened the door he turned to her and said seriously, "Just one more thing"

She looked up at him expectantly, "I won't tell anyone about this but Tony DiNozzo will find out somehow. I'm sorry I've ruined your reputation before you even start but Tony just knows these things. I just wanted you to know that I wasn't the one who told him".

She stood there with a quizzical expression on her face.

He sighed, "I'm just sorry", he said closing the door behind him.

* * *

Tony allowed himself a small amount of excitement. He was anticipating the reactions of his team to a new member. Gibbs had had the luxury of seeing McGee interact with his staff before selecting him. All Tony had to go on was paperwork. He had selected this girl because, on paper, she looked like she would fit in. Chemistry was a hard thing to judge on paper.

He looked up as the Director appeared at the top of the stairs trailed by a small Asian girl. He followed them with his eyes all the way down the stairs and to his desk before he acknowledged their presence, allowing McGee and Ziva to work on oblivious to the events that were about to unfold.

"Special Agent DiNozzo", the Director addressed him, "Your new probationary officer, Doris Chin".

McGee's head shot up. DiNozzo waited for him to process the situation and anticipated the show of appreciation that he was no longer the Probationary member of the group. What he didn't expect was the crimson colour McGee's face was becoming. It wasn't what he had been expected but it was a very intriguing development.

The director introduced Doris to Ziva and then to McGee.

"Hello again", she said cheerfully.

"Ahh, hi", he fumbled belatedly putting out his hand to shake hers.

Tony could see the plot thickening before his eyes. McGee looked like he had just been caught doing something very, very naughty.

"You two know each other?" he prompted suspiciously.

"We met last night", Doris began confidently looking him straight in the eye, "Agent McGee was kind enough to offer me a ride home".

"Ah .. ha", said Tony suggestively eyeing McGee.

"Tony, it's not what you're thinking…", McGee was flustered: Too flustered for just a ride home. It WAS what he was thinking.

"He stayed the night", said Doris calmly, "I hope that's not a problem".

"No not at all", Tony assured her, raising his voice a little to be heard over McGee's coughing fit, "So long as you keep it on a professional level at work."

"Of course".

"Then welcome to the team, Agent McGee will show you to your desk", and he turned for his desk to hide the smirk that was threatening to spread over his face. Wow! He did have a knack for this! McGee hadn't slept with Abby until weeks after they met. He'd beaten the old guys record by miles!

"Its, its, it, not what you think, Tony", a very agitated McGee was trailing him, "It was a very comfortable chair and I hadn't slept in days."

Tony turned and looked around him to Doris, "Is this true?"

"Oh yes", she nodded enthusiastically, "It's a very comfy chair."

McGee's blood pressure was beginning to shoot through the top of his head. He couldn't shake the impression that his life was being scripted by someone who got a perverse pleasure out of subjecting him to bizarre co-incidences; a woman probably. Australian, no doubt, he never could get the hang of Australians. He gave up on Tony and gave Doris a pleading look.

"It's the only was to handle people like Tony", she assured him calmly, "Now which is my desk?"

McGee looked from Tony to Doris and back and then to Ziva for good measure. He could find no sanctuary anywhere.

"This way", he relented.


	3. Tony Morphing

"You're in luck Probie", Tony announced, McGee looked up expectantly.

"Not you, Probalicious; Probie number 2", he grinned at Doris.

"We got a case on your very first day. Let's roll."

There was a flurry of activity as guns were loaded and bags and coats grabbed. The four of them crushed into the elevator and Tony hit the button. As they waited in silence, McGee noticed that Doris' arm was pressed against his. That arm was tingling. The other arm was touching Ziva. It was slightly warm from Ziva's body temperature, but it wasn't tingly. He started to feel tightness in his throat as his heart started thumping a little harder. He was rather relived when the lift doors opened and they could all spread out again.

Once in the car park Tony lead them to the van.

"I'll go in the back", McGee volunteered.

Tony put a hand out across his chest to stop him moving, "No you won't", he explained patiently, "that position is reserved for the Probie. Agent Chin", he invited, "Step right this way".

Doris marched confidently up to the rear of the van trying to figure out how she was going to scale such a height and still look professional. In an instant she felt a large pair of hands around her waist and McGee lifted her into the back of the van. She looked around in surprise and he hoped she couldn't see what the effect of grabbing her around her tiny waist was having on his anatomy.

"Probie!" Tony admonished McGee.

"Come on, Tony, we'd be here all day if we waited for her to climb up there", McGee explained, "and I'm not Probie."

"McGeek?" Tony offered.

McGee shot him an evil stare. Then he froze in horror as the engine started "Ziva's in the driver's seat".

"Hold on tight to something", McGee yelled back to Doris, shutting the rear door of the van as Tony ran for the front seat. McGee only just managed to shut the passenger door before the van screeched out of the car park in a blaze of burnt rubber.

They made record time. As Tony and McGee got shakily out of the car, Ziva headed off to the cordoned off house that was their target. Tony and McGee went round to the rear of the van.

"How you doin' there, Probie", called Tony, opening the rear door. Doris was bravely trying to smile normally but her white knuckles gripping a side rail betrayed her true fear.

"Fine", she gasped.

She crept to the edge of the back shelf and McGee made to help her. Tony gave him a warning look and he checked his original action and just held out a supporting hand for her which she used gratefully. Tony raised an annoyed eyebrow and shook his head.

"Let's go profiler", he ordered.

Although the house appeared innocuous from the street, blood could be seen sprayed across the windows as the three approached. Tony grinned, 'blooding' the new recruit was going to be a bit more literal than he had first planned. Ziva met them at the door, fresh-faced and excited.

"Bomb took out a marine couple, there are pieces everywhere", she panted excitedly.

McGee swallowed hard. He felt duty bound as a senior officer to plough on in, but as a human being, he wanted to run far, far away. He looked down at Doris who was nervously peering around Tony. Probably the quickest way for her to loose all respect for him, apart from falling asleep in her chair, was to throw up on her. He took a deep steadying breath and headed in.

It was approximately two seconds between the time Doris laid eyes on the carnage and the time she sprinted out the door to throw up in the garden. Tony laughed. McGee scowled at him and headed back out after her. He found her on her knees throwing up into a bush trying to keep her long hair out of the way with one hand.

"Here", he said gently, sweeping up her hair and doing a loose plait. Having a sister had its advantages. Not many, granted, but you certainly learnt to plait hair. "I'll get you some water" and he headed off back to the van.

By the time he had returned she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed in a lotus position, eyes closed, breathing calmly.

"Doris?" he started.

She opened her eyes, "Oh thanks," she said reaching out her hand for the water. She took a sip and swallowed deeply. "I'm really not cut out for this, am I", she looked straight into his eyes.

"No one does well on their first one", he reassured her.

"I thought I'd be fine", she continued, "I did the autopsy thing without a problem."

"Really?" McGee was impressed, "I threw up on Ducky's shoes".

She giggled, "Really?"

"Oh, yeah".

She smiled at him. Then she returned the bottle and stood up resolutely. "Let's try again".

* * *

On the drive back, Tony reflected on the recovery time of this new agent. Sure she had freaked on the first sighting, anyone would, even seasoned FBI agents might have hurled at this one. But she had rallied, come back for more and done her job. He had high hopes for her so long as McGee didn't keep trying to baby her.

McGee opened the rear door of the van when they arrived back at headquarters to find Doris calmly waiting with a serene smile on her face. He smiled back and as she moved to jump down, he got an eyeful of her breasts. An unbidden, unwanted thought shot through his mind, 'I wonder if I could fit that in my mouth?' He mentally reeled in horror. Doris was becoming the Probie, Tony was becoming Gibbs and now he was evolving into Tony.

Doris jumped down from the van lightly and headed off while he stood frozen in shock.

"McGeek", he heard Tony shout, "What're you gaping at?" He snapped his mouth shut and hurried for the door.


	4. A date with Ducky

"McGee, take Doris down to autopsy, our marines have made it home," yelled Tony from his desk without looking up.

McGee smiled encouragingly at Doris who seemed hesitant to leave the safety of her desk.

"You're the one who did OK in autopsy", he reminded her. He won a nervous smile from her as she followed him to the elevator.

Once the elevator door shut he noticed again, how close she was standing to him. Other parts of his anatomy were starting to notice too so he plunged his hands into his jacket pockets in an attempt to hide any suspicious lumps in his pants. Did it always take this long to get to autopsy?

He heaved a small sigh of relief as the doors slid open. Going into autopsy would do the trick. Better than a cold shower any day.

As they walked into autopsy, he heard Doris gasp "Oh my". He was about to say something comforting to his underling when he suddenly saw the sight that she had been viewing. For a moment he felt light-headed and the world zoomed out of focus. Reassuring Doris would have to wait until he could talk again.

"You OK?" now Doris was re-assuring him, this wasn't going to way he planned at all. The extra blood flowing to his head from the embarrassment nicely redressed the blood flowing out from shock; the world zoomed back into focus.

"Ah, yeah", he said uncertainly closing his eyes for a moment to shut out the vision. He opened his eyes again and saw the body pieces; the focus slid out again. Doris touched his arm, focus returned. So he stood there with the world zooming in and out of focus waiting for some kind of equilibrium to be established.

Then she touched his face, cupping his cheeks in both hands and with a rush he was back. She was touching his skin with hers and every part of his body was alive and tingling. A warm glow started to throb in his groin and he gasped at her wide-eyed.

"Is he OK", Doris asked Ducky with a concerned look on her face.

Ducky had left his work and was standing inches from him. His face changed from concern to amusement. "He'll be fine, now", he said with a sly smile returning to his work.

"I'm fine", he assured her taking a deep breath, but there was some regret when she lowered her hands from him. Maybe if he passed out, she'd give him mouth to mouth. He shook himself mentally; this Tony morphing was very draining.

"Ahhh, um , have you met Ducky?" he stammered.

"Sort of," she said turning to Ducky and smiling at him.

"Doris, Ducky, Ducky, Doris", he made the introductions, trying to ignore the blood thumping in his head. At least he wouldn't be passing out any time soon.

"Doris", Ducky began, "That's an unusual name for someone of your tender years."

"My parents were Doris Day fans", she explained.

"Ahhh, Doris Day," Ducky's eyes took a faraway look, "You are very lucky. She was both beautiful and talented. You should be proud of such a name."

Doris gave him a skeptical look.

"You know", he continued, undeterred, "I worked for years with a man whose first name was Napoleon. Don't know what his parents were thinking."

"Was he a special agent, Ducky?" asked McGee politely, hoping this conversation might lead to the actual case in hand.

"In a manner of speaking", Ducky hedged, "Now I suppose you've come about your marine bodies…"

"Yes", said McGee efficiently pulling out a notebook so he didn't have to look at the bodies.

"Well, no great surprise about the cause of death, they were blown to bits, but I found something interesting in the rectum of each of the victims".

McGee swallowed hard; it would be there.

"Yes, I've sent one to Abby," Ducky continued, "but I've just found another and I want to show you exactly where it was."

He reached up inside the victim's anus and pulled out a small capsule. Doris grimaced.

"Why?" she asked.

"I think it was something they were trying to hide," Ducky surmised, "I think they were going to try to swallow the information but couldn't so they went for the next best orifice."

"Charming", said Doris looking up at McGee, who nodded in agreement.

"Abby should be able to give you the contents of the other one by now", said Ducky by way of dismissal.

"Thanks Ducky", said McGee as they left.

"Promise me something", Said Doris as they headed towards Abby's lab.

"What?" there was a tinge of guilt to his voice, he was a little worried all this recent thoughts were on display.

"If we ever get kidnapped with capsules of information on us, we put it up our own rectums."

"Ok," he laughed, relieved.


	5. Meeting Abby

Abby's blaring music greeted them as they stepped into the lab. Doris shot McGee a confused look and he shrugged, "She does her best work this way", he explained.

They found Abby at the microscope peering intently at something.

"Hey, McGee", she smiled without looking up "Ducky said he'd send you over to look at this".

Looking up she noticed Doris, "Oh hey, you must be the new probie"

"Yes, Doris", she said extending her hand.

"Abby", Abby replied taking her small hand in both hers. Then she flung them down with a relish, opening her arms wide and announced: "Welcome to the fantastic world of forensics".

"Ah thank you", said Doris uncertainly.

"Now," Abby voice returned to a more business like tone, "I suppose you want to know what was up the back passage of the victim, apart from the obvious"

"McGee winced, "Abby…"

"What", she gave him an innocent gaze which he chastised with a movement of his eyebrows. She grinned at him.

"Its good ol' microfiche, you know, from like the old library days." And she put the image onto the larger screen for them to see.

"So what's on it", asked McGee squinting to read the letters.

"Names", Abby replied. "No idea whose, but names."

"Can I get a print out?" ask McGee.

Abby picked up the piece of paper on the table with a flourish. "For you sir", she bowed, handing it to him. Doris smiled, she like Abby already.

McGee's phone went off and he handed the list to Doris before answering. He hung up after a few seconds. "We gotta go Abs", he said, "The director wants to give the probationary officers a talk."

"Oh, can I just show you one more thing", Abby pleaded.

McGee opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times deciding what to do.

"You stay", said Doris finally, "I can find my way and I'll give this to Agent Dinozzo on the way".

"You sure?" he queried.

"Sure", she assured him with a brilliant smile, "I came first in my school orienteering, I think I can handle a trip to the elevator."

She turned and left but McGee was still looking after her, her smile still burnt into his retina like a Cheshire cat grin.

"Earth to McGee", Abby was saying.

He blinked at her and found she had a smug grin on her face.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Ohhhh", said Abby mischievously, "Chuckie's in love."

He frowned at her unconvincingly, "Abby", he growled. He was annoyed at her but he wasn't quite sure what for.

Abby was still smiling at him, now he was very annoyed. "I think it's so cute", she crooned at him.

"Stop it," he grumped, "Do you have anything for me or not".

"Ribbed or smooth?"

"Abby!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist," she grinned.

"Try", he suggested with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"Seriously McGee", Abby ploughed on undeterred, "I think she likes you too".

"Really?" he hadn't meant to show her how high his hopes were and he immediately regretted his impetuous response when she laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"Word is you stayed over at her house", she wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"What!" he was almost yelled at her, "how did you hear about that?"

"Abby gave him a sweet smile, "unlike Gibbs, Tony knows how to address email to 'all'"

"Oh God", he breathed realising the magnitude of the problem.


	6. Dreams

McGee woke suddenly. He was panting, sweaty and oh my God the bed was wet! He had dreamt of Doris, a naked, lustful and extremely flexible Doris willing, able and oh, stop thinking about this, its not helping.

He sat up in bed. It was 2am and the night was cool and particularly dark. He took a deep breath and tried to make sense of what had just happened. She was young, vulnerable and looked up to him like no one had ever done. It was a teacher/student relationship. Maybe he was a latent paedophile… He stopped himself. This was getting silly. She was a woman who liked him, that was enough to get his male brain into gear: No, not that brain, the other one.

He rolled out of bed and flicked on the light. He was soaking. Everything was covered in sticky, salty and now cold liquid. It was 2am, and he needed a shower desperately. He stripped the bed and took everything to the bathroom where we added his pyjamas to the pile and stepped into the shower. He rested his head against the shower wall letting the warm water run down his back. He felt much more at ease now, in fact downright sleepy. He turned off the shower, dried himself off and headed back to the bedroom. The sheets were gone. Sighing, he went to the linen cupboard, dragged out the sleeping and dragged it to the bedroom. Collapsing on the bed he pulled the sleeping bag around his shoulders and immediately dropped into a sound and dreamless sleep.

* * *

He found it difficult to look Doris in the eye then next morning and was more than a little taken aback when she approached his desk purposefully.

"I suppose you heard about the email", she started.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry, it wasn't me it's just, well, um", OK, he was just dealing out random words; he had nothing useful to say.

"It's been a great help," she said happily.

Somewhere in McGee's mind, he heard tires screeching to a halt.

"Excuse me?" he said knitting his eyebrows.

"Now none of the guys hit on me because they think I'm taken. It's such a relief."

He stared at her, stunned, searching for any evidence of sarcasm. "It's really that bad?" he said finally.

"Oh yeah, I've been considering wearing a wedding ring just to scare them off, but now I don't have to. Anyway, I just came to say thanks." And she turned and almost skipped over to her desk leaving McGee sitting open mouthed.

"Probie," called Tony, both McGee and Doris looked up in surprise, Tony had perfected Gibbs stalking.

Tony looked from one to the other, "I'm just gonna say 'Probies' from now on, OK?"

McGee frowned at him but Tony ignored him. "What about the second anus listing?"

"Oh more names", said Doris efficiently, "The same number as the first which suggest some sort of correlation."

"Abby managed to trace the explosives to a fireworks shop", McGee continued, "They could have sold the stuff to anyone, but Abby lifted a print that didn't match either of the two marines and she's looking for a match right now".

McGee's phone rang and he snatched it eagerly, "McGee", he snapped. Tucking the phone into his ear with his shoulder he scribbled furiously before thanking the caller and slamming down the receiver.

"Abby's got a match", he said excitedly, it's a spook and we have an address.

"Let's roll", said Tony.


	7. Revelations

It was quiet: Too quiet. Despite the tension, Tony smiled. He loved that phrase and liked to think it as much as possible. Still, it didn't change the fact it actually was too quiet.

"Let's see what we've got", he said quietly opening the car door with great care. Ziva, McGee and Doris followed suit.

They spread out, forming a cautious line as they stalk towards the house. Each alert for any signs of disturbance. Tony's foot had barely touched the front steps when the first gunshots rang out. Four agents dived for cover.

Tony indicated with his head to McGee and Ziva which positions they should take. The Probie would just have to stay under cover for now. Slowly they stalked around looking for signs of trouble.

McGee was just passing a few arm lengths from Doris crouched behind a small bush when a large guy appeared from nowhere and took aim at him. Doris instantly stood and levelled her pistol at him. McGee, seeing her in danger did a diving tackle as the shots started resulting in Doris ricocheting around the garden like a ping pong ball. McGee landed heavily and rolled to a crouch almost immediately scrambling to find Doris in the undergrowth. He found her lying face down and in a panic lifted her by her arms to a stand.

"Are you OK", he whispered urgently, his hands frantically running over the curves of her body looking for signs of injury.

"Ah, I'm fine".

"It does look good," came Tony's laconic voice from behind him, "when NCIS takes someone down and the agents start making out".

McGee stopped suddenly, aghast at what he was doing to Doris. He turned to Doris, the colour in his face rising.

"I…I was just trying to check if you were OK".

"I know", she tried to reassure him.

"We took him down?" McGee finally registered what Tony had said.

"Ziva took him down", Tony clarified, "It's amazing what you can do when you're not spending your time crash tackling the new Probie."

McGee looked down, shamefaced.

"Get in the car McGee", it was a tone of voice McGee had never hear Tony used before. It didn't sound good, "We'll sort this out at the office." Really, really not good.

* * *

As they entered the bullpen Tony swung into action.

"Special Agent Chin, down to Abby's lab and wait until I call you", Tony yelled, Doris fled.

"You.", Tony pointed at McGee, "My desk: Now."

McGee followed him with his shoulders slumped and a glum expression on his face.

When they reached Tony's desk, Tony turned on McGee.

"What were you thinking?" he yelled.

"She was in danger", McGee yelled back aggravated.

"No, she was learning to do her job!" Tony was exasperated, "You could have got both of you killed."

"I just don't want her being killed on her first case", the anger radiated from McGee as he spoke.

"No, you want her safely at home raising your kids", Tony shot at him.

McGee almost rose in the air with indignation and directed his hostility straight at Tony, "How dare you insinuate that…" and he froze mid sentence.

Tony watched McGee deflate before his eyes, collapsing to a chair and staring into space. He waited for McGee to come to himself again.

"I dreamt about her last night", said McGee quietly.

"Tony grinned, "A wet dream?" he joked.

McGee slid him a guilty look and averted his eyes causing Tony to laugh out loud.

"That's never happened to me before, OK?" McGee continued shamefaced, "Not since I was a teenager and never about a co-worker."

Tony sat down on the edge of a desk and swung one leg freely, "speaking as one of your co-workers", he said lightly, "I am very glad to hear that".

McGee looked back up at Tony and a small smiled played across his lips. Then he became serious again, "What am I going to do, Tony? It's affecting my work."

"Ya think?" the old man's spirit still haunted.

"I'm going to have to leave", said McGee morosely, "I can't put her career in jeopardy"

"Oh, no you don't", said Tony leaning in closer to him, "You're not running away from this. You have to face the situation and deal with it."

McGee looked up at Tony and swallowed hard. "You're right, I know, its just she's so small and fragile…"

"She's an agent, McGee, a probationary agent who's relying on you to show her the ropes. She needs to learn to survive."

"I know", McGee conceded. "I'll back off"

"Good, we're having a welcome dinner tonight. Behave yourself. No go write up your report. I have a Probie to talk to."

* * *

Probationary Officer Chin", Tony started officially once Doris was seated. He preferred the height advantaged, it made him seem like a real boss.

"Yes"

"Why did you choose to stand up and aim your weapon rather than shot from your covered position?"

Doris looked down, embarrassed. "I. ah, wanted to protect Tim".

"You put yourself in danger, you know that?"

"Yes, it won't happen again."

"I know", said Tony solemnly. "You are also aware we have sexual harassment rules here?"

"I'm sure you're well verse in them", Doris muttered.

"Excuse me?", Tony lowered his ear to her mouth.

"Yes", he answered loudly enough to make Tony winch. He gave her an annoyed look.

"If Special agent McGee does something inappropriate, you have a duty to report it, you know that?"

"He has done nothing inappropriate", Doris defended passionately, "He was concerned for my safety, and there was nothing to it."

"And outside work?"

"Why would that matter?"

"He can't harass you outside of work either."

"He's not"

"Just so you know", said Tony casually taking his seat, "McGee wasn't potty trained until he was 6".

Doris pouted thoughtfully, "No..", she concluded finally, "I'd day he probably still wet the bed at 6, he was probably an ADD kid and they're 30 more likely to wet the bed for longer. He would also have under-developed gross motor skills, which led him to computing rather than sport. I'd say he was probably still potty training at 3 or 4, though."

Tony blinked at her. Profiler training was getting very specific these days.

"You on the other hand", Doris continued, "Probably trained early to get the accolades from your parents. I suspect you would even cover up accidents so they wouldn't be disappointed in you.."

"OK,"Tony held up his hand, "you've made your point.

He looked at her for a moment. She was certainly strong enough to be a special agent someday. Finally, he stood up and stuck out his hand. "Welcome to the team", he said, "and you are cordially invited to a welcome dinner in your honour tonight."

"Ah, thanks..", said Doris, slightly taken aback She shook the hand offered.

"Now lets see how well you write reports", said Tony dismissing her.


	8. Dinner and a movie

As they left for Doris's welcome dinner that night, Tony caught McGee by the arm. "Do not drink tonight", he warned.

"What are you, my mother?"

"Do you want to do something you might regret?"

McGee considered, "No.." he said slowly.

"Then do not drink anything tonight, I will not be responsible for your behaviour if you put your own arse in a sling. Clear?"

"Ah yeah, Boss, ah Tony".

McGee shook his head. What did Tony think he was going to do? On the other hand, since he was becoming Tony, maybe Tony was warning him of what was to come. Maybe he should heed the warning.

* * *

McGee was staring at Doris: Again. Every time she spoke it was like there was a giant spot light on her and everyone else just faded away. They talked about their lives, their hopes, their dreams for the future. They shared food and laughed at each others jokes.

Tony turned to Ziva, "Hi, I'm Tony from the planet invisible", he said holding out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you", she reached over and shook his hand "I'm from your neighbourhood. If we were undercover at the moment, we would be perfect."

McGee and Doris rose to leave, McGee retrieving Doris' coat from the back of her chair and holding it out for her while she slid her delicate arms through the sleeves. Then he took out his wallet and left enough money for the two of them and they turned towards the exit without a glance at Tony and Ziva.

Tony sprang from his seat, "Hey Probies"

They both turned seemly surprised by his presence. "Rule Number 12 , thou shalt not.."

"They're not commandments, Tony", said McGee dryly. "Besides, how many times did Gibbs himself break that one?"

"And look at the consequences," Tony pointed out.

"Tony", McGee was getting annoyed.

"Are you taking her home?" Tony demanded.

"Of course," McGee was innocence personified, "She lives near my place and she hasn't got a car".

Tony eyed McGee suspiciously.

"Ziva needs a lift too, she lives near you," he said pushing Ziva forward so hard that she almost stumbled into McGee.

"Fine", McGee retorted.

"Tony, I haven't paid yet," Ziva whispered urgently.

"I'll get it," he assured her, "Just go."

Ziva shot Tony an annoyed look then turned to McGee and Doris with an artificial smile. "Let's go".

Tony sidled up next to McGee. "You are NOT to set foot in her apartment."

"Fine"

In the car McGee looked back at Ziva.

"Hi there", she announced, "I'm Ziva, I will be your chaperon for the evening".

"How much will it cost us for you to disappear?" asked McGee.

"Drop me off at the club up the road", Ziva suggested pointing, "I'm not ready to go home just yet."

"Done"

* * *

Although it seemed like a good idea at the time, McGee started panicking the moment his key slid in his lock. It was judgment time. He took a moment to worry about what the bathroom looked like. Was there washing up in the sink?

He opened his door and the memories flooded back. His quilt was airing across the back of the couch. He had at least washed the sheets but they were still sitting in the dryer. He prayed she wouldn't ask why the linen needed cleaning.

"Why is your quilt there?"

Damn, he had to think quickly on his feet: "Its sheet changing day."

No, probably not good enough.

"Don't you do that on weekends when you're not working?"

He opened his mouth but he had nothing to offer that wouldn't make him seem like a perverted old man.

"Oh", she said suddenly, "You had to work last weekend, I forgot."

"Ah, yes", he affirmed quickly striding to the couch, ripping the quilt off and tossing it in the bedroom. He tried not to heave the great sigh of relief he was feeling.

Meanwhile Doris was prowling around looking at his things. He waited with his heart in his throat.

"What do you type?" she asked finally.

He cast his eyes downwards, he'd rather not see her response, "Ah, mysteries, a bit of poetry…" he dared to peak at her she was still staring at the typewriter.

"You are very talented", she said finally. He scanned for sarcasm but found no trace.

"I write a bit myself", she continued hesitantly, "In Word, rather than on a typewriter, my spelling and grammar need some work…"

"Really?"

"Oh yes, it's appalling"

He blink a moment, "No, I mean you really write?"

"When I have the time; it's quite cathartic".

He relaxed a little; they had more in common than he thought.

She turned to him. "I thought maybe we could watch a DVD together", she suggested "I still haven't got a player."

"That would be great", McGee smiled at her, he would watch anything with her. He didn't even look at the offering. Probably just as well.

"They only had 'Fried Green Tomatoes' left".

His smile froze, then he relaxed. Yes, he'd even watch that. He remembered vaguely something Abby had said about 'Sleepless in Seattle' and wondered if he had passed some sort of test.

Doris settled herself while McGee inserted the disk. He turned and considered his options. He should sit on the couch with her, of that much he was certain. But how close was an acceptable distance. While he was reasonably sure than leaping on top of her and ripping her clothes off was probably a no-no, no matter how keen he was to try, sitting at the far end of the couch clutching a pillow defensively to his side would probably send the wrong message. He chose a spot about two hand widths from her, he could still feel her body heat but she wasn't actually obliged to touch him.

She smiled at him as she sat and snuggled against his side, placing her hand on his leg. He tried to smile casually but he was sure his pupils were too dilated to pull of the look without seeming deranged. He swallowed hard and hesitantly put one arm around her. He felt like a teenager in the back row of the movies. Not that he was doing that when he was a teenager. Of course not: He felt like Tony would have felt as a teenager at the movies. She smiled encouragingly. He took a nervous breath and started the DVD.


	9. taking a chance

Doris sighed as she turned off the DVD with the remote. Maybe this really hadn't been the best choice in movies. She couldn't hear it anyway over McGee's sound snoring. It had really not been her intention to put this guy to sleep again. Yet here she was. This time his head was balanced precariously on top of her. The great weight seemed to be boring her into the couch and any moment now she was sure she was going to strike oil. The arm he had been so cautious about wrapping around her now lay loosely at her side, twitching occasionally.

It really wasn't that late. If she woke him now he might be well enough rested for some action.

"Agent McGee..", she said softly.

There was no change in the rhythmical snoring. The soft touch wasn't going to cut it.

"Tim", she tried, louder.

McGee jerked awake with a snort and a great weight was lifted from her head. She felt inches taller and she knew she could use the help.

"What!" McGee looked around blearily. His eyes came to rest on Doris, "Ice cream?" he had no idea where that had come from but it seemed to make sense at the time.

"Not unless you have some", Doris replied.

McGee did an exaggerated blink and tried to figure out where he was and if this was something Tony was going to be mad about. He still had an arm around Doris: A numb arm admittedly, but it was still there and she hadn't moved it. That was probably a good sign. Then it came back to him: the movie: chick flick: one woman dying slowly rather than thousands dying quickly.

"Oh, sorry," he apologised, "did I fall asleep?"

"I seem to have that affect on you"

He smiled at her, he was really going to have to move that arm soon. Thankfully she seemed to read his distracted mind.

"Your arm must be numb", she observed, shifting her weight.

"Ahh, yes", he admitted dragging it from behind her and giving it a few bashes.

"Do you still want to watch the movie", he tried to sound enthusiastic.

"No", she said slyly, I thought we could try something better.

"Like?" he could quite believe she was suggesting what he had been hoping she would suggest. He needed to hear her say it.

She turned to face him. "I really, really like you" she said.

McGee swallowed hard. He knew from personal experience how much courage it took to say those words to someone. He also knew only too well what the rejection felt like. He was not going to do that to her. In fact, it occurred to him, he didn't even have to lie.

"I really like you too," he said earnestly.

"Good", she smiled at him, "That makes my plans a whole lot easier".

* * *

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains adding life to the shiny black hair that lay across McGee's pillow. He lay watching the red highlights dancing. The hair was so shiny it almost seemed liquid, like mercury. Abby had black hair too but it didn't have any highlights, natural or otherwise.

Making love to her was different than with Abby. Abby was like a thoroughbred race horse, in a sort of kinky way, whereas Doris was more like, well, a Chihuahua: small and. feisty, yet so delicate he thought she might snap.

He stared at her beautiful face. He hadn't seen her sleep before and he was still down 2-1 in that department, possibly 3-1 because he was sure he fell asleep before her, but he had hopes that there would be many more opportunities to redress the balance. Her eyes fluttered open gently and at this range, he could see the border between the pupil and the dark brown iris. They were beautiful eyes.

"Good morning", he smiled at her.

"Yes, it is", she agreed, stretching luxuriously like a cat. Then she looked at him suddenly, "Tony's going to kill us," she giggled.

"Ah well, I always wanted to die happy"


	10. Whispers

"Tell me you did not set foot in her apartment", Tony loomed over McGee as he sat typing at his computer.

"I did not set foot in her apartment", McGee parroted without looking up.

"Let me see your eyes", said Tony accusingly.

McGee looked up obligingly batting his eyelids. Tony searched McGee's eyes for traces of untruth. The guy was not a good liar.

"Scouts honour"

'Hmm', thought Tony, "the innocent boy scout routine…"

Tony narrowed his eyes and tried to get McGee's measure. Finally he relented and moved off to his desk.

"Didn't go within sight of it all night", McGee said softly to himself and he saw Ziva's eyebrows rise.

Tony turned around suddenly, having half caught what McGee had said. He smiled to himself, McGee was growing up before his eyes and he probably just had to let him make his own mistakes. Then he realised Doris wasn't actually there.

"Where is Doris?" he asked McGee.

"Oh Abby rang to see if she wanted to watch how we do the fingerprint matching from the database".

"What! They're down there alone together!", Tony was horrified, "Quick, let's go" and he ran past McGee groping at him clumsily to urge him to get up.

"What?" Mystified, McGee followed.

* * *

Doris entered Abby's lab quietly and sought her out. Abby smiled at her as she approached.

"Hey Doris, want have a look at this program", she sang out.

"Ahh, yes," Doris began nervously, "I ahh, also just have a little question for you."

"Shoot"

"Well, it's about Tim", Doris hedged.

Abby's eyes lit up, "Ohhh, girl talk", she patted the stool next to her, "Sit down. You can help me run these tests, and I will tell you all you need to know to get the most out of your new geek."

Doris smiled wickedly, she had known she was going to like Abby from the moment she met her.

* * *

Tony and McGee entered the lab together at a fair speed but they both screeched to a halt when they saw Abby and Doris chatting happily.

Tony grabbed McGee's arm "Two women talking can only mean one thing", he warned ominously.

"That they're having a conversation?" McGee ventured.

Tony slid his eyes to McGee and toyed with the idea of hitting him on the back of the head.

"No", he began to whisper urgently, "It means they're comparing notes"

"On what?" inquired McGee, puzzled.

Tony decided he'd give McGee one more chance before he hit him on the back of the head.

"You", he rasped.

McGee looked confused for a moment and then his eyes opened wide, "What!"

"Oh yeah", Tony nodded watching the two girls intently; "Abby is giving Doris all sorts of hints."

"Oh, God", McGee whispered in terror, "What do I do?"

Tony grinned suddenly and slapped McGee on the back, "Nothing", he said in a cheerful voice, "You are well and truly screwed."

McGee whimpered as Tony marched over to Abby and Doris, leaving him alone and vulnerable.

"Ladies!" Tony greeted them, "What have you got for me?"

The conversation stopped abruptly and Abby took a moment to regroup and focus.

"Oh, um," she looked guiltily across to Doris who was trying to hide a smirk, "We, ah, pulled another set of prints".

She craned her neck to see beyond Tony and spied McGee hovering near the door. Then she smiled at McGee. A devious smile. A smile that sent shivers down McGee's back.


	11. Something lurks under your desk

Author's note: OK this chapter is the reason for the rating. It's also the last one I wrote because I then saw the new Female Asian Probie (FAP) on NCIS. Thank you YouTube for that, by the way, otherwise I would not have seen it until my youngest starts school next year. Firstly, I like my FAP a whole lot better, secondly, I hope the real NCIS FAP goes the way of Chip really soon now (sing along: Follow the yellow Chip road, follow the yellow Chip road) and thirdly, the actress did look small enough to fit under McGee's desk. Keep a look out to see if McGee looks really happy one day at his desk. -

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McGee walked into the bullpen and stopped. It was empty. It was nearly lunchtime, he considered, maybe they had all gone to lunch. Gone to lunch without him? That would have been unusual, and he was sure someone would have contacted him if there was a case. He shrugged and decided it was probably a good time to get some of those searches underway without constant distractions.

He made his way down to his desk, absently reading the title of the file he was holding. He tossed it on the desk and sat on his chair. As he went to move his chair, he heard a small voice from under the desk.

"Careful", it whispered.

"What the.." he tilted his head down and saw Doris sitting under his desk.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Abby told me about your little fantasy", said Doris with a smile.

He blinked at her for a moment, "What? Oh you can't be serious?"

"Oh yes."

"But, but, but what if Tony and Ziva come back," he whispered urgently.

"Abby's taken them to lunch", she giggled, "Now if you perch closer to the end of the chair, it will make things easier".

"Doris!" he was torn: fantasy was one thing, reality was something completely different.

"Forward", Doris commanded, "and put on the headset so people don't think you're talking to yourself. This is one occasion where the word 'premature' does not enter into the equation, speed would be good".

He shifted forward on the seat and put on the headset. His eyes scanned the others in the room, quietly going about their work. He felt her quickly undo his zip.

"Abby's got a big mouth", he heard Doris whisper.

"Yes she has", he agreed fervently, I'm going to kill her, or thank her, when I see her next time…"

"That's not what I meant", came Doris' voice again.

"Oh," he said in comprehension which then quickly became an "ohhhhhhhhh" as Doris took him.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to tame the spontaneous spasms of his lower body. He could feel the warmth radiating from his groin and he held onto the keyboard with both hands to brace himself. He found himself rocking and breathing rhythmically, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. Finally, he could not stifle a muffled cry as he convulsed violently in his seat. The keyboard grasped in his hands rose from the desk in his ecstasy, pivoted at his elbows.

At that precise moment the lift doors opened and Tony and Ziva came striding in. Tony was saying something about a case and the two of them rushed to their desks to gather their things.

"Are you coming Probie?" he heard Tony call.

"Oh yes….", McGee grunted, forcing the keyboard back onto the desk.

"You OK?" he heard Tony ask him as he sat panting and sweating at the desk.

"Yeah, ahh, back spasm," he said through gritted teeth, prizing hie eyelids open to focus on Tony's face.

"Where's Doris?" said Tony looking around.

"I'll get her and meet you at the car," McGee's voice had returned to normal, but he was still panting.

"Two minutes", Tony called as he and Ziva raced for the elevator.

The moment the elevator door slid shut, McGee ripped off his headset, pushed back his chair and dropped onto his knees. Doris was sitting under the desk with a rather full mouth, trying not to giggle. He smiled excitedly at her. " No one has ever done that for me."

Still on his knees, he helped her out from under the desk and gave her a brief, surreptitious kiss before quickly repackaging himself. He took her hand and led her quickly to the elevator where they met Tony coming back out.

"Forgot the damn keys", he muttered. Then he looked at Doris, "Where were you?"

"Ah, doing a favour for a friend", she hedged.

"Always stay in contact", Tony warned, "I'll meet you at the car."

McGee and Doris shared guilty glances as they steeped into the lifts, managing to hold of their laughter until the doors shut.

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OK, Any suggestion? I've had absolutely no reviews on this so my short term plan is to let it slide. Though I may get inspired if the real NCIS FAP turns out to be nice or dead. I am just finishing up another fic which is more plot driven and features one of my favourite NCIS plot devices: vomit.


	12. Longings and friendships

McGee knew what she was about to say the moment he opened the door. She had the look. The look he must have seen a hundred times before. A look he had hoped he would never see on her face. And yet there it was.

"Hi," she said softly, lowering her eyes.

As she walked past him into his apartment, he closed his eyes and steeled himself for 'the explanation'. Even as his heart was sinking, however, there was guilt. He was guilty of cowardice. He had known this moment was looming, and yet he had left it to her to have the courage to do what had to be done.

"Tim, I've been thinking," never a good start. He debated whether he should putting her out of her misery now or let her string along an awkward concoction of words. Sometimes he let them take the word option, it was a spectator sport for him, but this one he had no desire to see suffer. It was time for euthanasia.

"I know," he gave her a tight, sad smile.

She averted her eyes, "I'm sorry", she whispered.

There were tears rolling down her beautiful cheeks and he wondered vaguely why she was so sad if she wanted it all to end. But really, he knew. Such a loss always required a period of mourning. He was already starting to feel like an empty, hollow shell and he found himself wishing that she would just leave before she saw the effect this was having on him.

He put his arms around her gently. "It's OK", he said softly.

"I'm moving to legal," she said snuggled against his chest, probably for the last time.

"There's no reason to do that," it was an unconvincing protest; he could not bear to face her at work. Maybe rule no. 12 should be carved in stone.

She pulled away at arms length to look at him, "No, not because of this," she assured him earnestly, "I was already making the move. I think legal just suits me a bit better."

He understood. She was probably right.

"There's another thing," she was looking down again. He panicked: he had no idea what he would do right now if she said she was pregnant.

"There is someone else."

"How old?" In hindsight the question probably deserved the look she gave it but at the time he was thinking in terms of weeks, not years.

"Exactly one day older than you," she smiled playfully. Even in times of stress, she could twang his heart strings.

"I hope he's good to you," time to get her out, his responses were getting lame and he was on the verge of a major depressive episode.

He led her to the door and opened it for her. He leant down and gave her one last, chaste kiss on the cheek. She smiled tearfully and left without turning back.

He closed the door firmly and leaned his forehead heavily against it closing his eyes against the world for just a moment. He took a deep breath which was a little more stuttery than he intended and was glad he was alone. He was startled to hear a loud knock on the other side of the door from his face.

Despite everything, his heart leapt a little in hope but he stomped it down before it got too carried away. He peaked through the spy hole and saw Abby's eye peering in from the other side.

"Come on, McGee," she called out, "I know you're in there."

So she had told Abby. He should have expected it. Rumours spread thick and fast at work. He was sure Tony knew by now. Heck, even Gibbs in his Mexican shack probably knew about it before he did. He took a deep breath and solemnly opened the door.

Abby strode past him carrying a box of tissues in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

"Abby," he chastised her; "you know I don't believe in drowning my sorrows."

"But I do," she pointed out with a forced grin, "and I don't like to drink alone."

She headed for the kitchen and pulled out a couple of glasses. She looked back at his mournful face and sighed. "You really liked her didn't you?"

"Yeah," he croaked, he was loosing it and he knew it.

Drained of energy, he somehow managed to drag himself to the kitchen bench and hoist himself onto it. The bench groaned in protest and he wondered what its weight rating was. By the noises it was making, he was probably going to get a handle on the weight rating pretty soon.

Abby placed the glasses, bottle and tissues on the bench and stood in front of him. Silently, she wove her arms around his neck. She understood the pain. They had a bond that exceeded the spoken word. His chest ached and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her shoulder.

"It's OK", Abby whispered in his ear.

She stroked his back comfortingly, feeling his body shaking beneath her. Slowly she felt her shoulder become warm and wet.

There was a loud knock on the door and his impossibly optimistic heart attempted yet another leap before he lassoed it, dragged it back to earth, tied in securely in place and put it out of its misery.

"That'll be Tony and Ziva", said Abby cheerily.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and sighed, "Of course it will."

"Hey buddy," Tony greeted him like a long lost friend, adding a nipple tweak into the bargain, "dumping party!"

* * *

It was past 2 am when McGee finally closed his front door on their retreating backs. He looked back at the circle of upturned glasses in a ring on the floor of his apartment and smiled gently. It had worked; he didn't feel lonely any more. In fact, he actually craved solitude. Strangely, when all was said and done, he didn't really miss Doris anymore. The one person who was truly missing from his world was in Mexico.


End file.
